April 22nd 2018 Mayo Junior Championship
Ballintubber 2-08 Kilmaine 2-12
Our junior team were on the verge of causing a major upset in the Mayo Junior Championship today against title favourites Kilmaine yesterday. Clawing back a nine-point deficit to level the score early in the second half, we may well have seized the day had we played with more fluidity in attack. Nonetheless our lads proved that there is plenty of talent in the reserve ranks of our club, giving the highly-fancied home side plenty to think about during certain spells.
On a blustery afternoon, the South Mayo men posted three points before Hugh Geraghty pointed our first free. During this time, our poor decision-making and lack of quality ball into the forward line did us no favours. Indeed, when Cathal Murphy shook the ‘Tubber net after receiving a pass the pacy Oisín Mullin it appeared to open the floodgates, with the home side clocking up four more unanswered points. However, with a mountain to climb, we responded positively with five unanswered scores of our own before break from the impressive Ciarán Gavin and frees from Johnny Duffy and Hugh Geraghty.
When Kilmaine’s Colin Hughes saw red for a second yellow on the stroke of half-time, the idea of an unlikely victory for the Red of White couldn’t yet be discounted. Shortly after the commencement of the second half, a hanging ball from Ciarán Gavin was grasped by Hugh Geraghty who evaded a number of Kilmaine bodies before firing home hard and low into the net, prompting a huge roar of encouragement from the Ballintubber supporters gathered. Indeed, when Johnny Duffy equalized mid-way through the half with an excellent score from an acute angle, the game was thrown right back into the melting pot.
However, Kilmaine captain Pat Kelly led by example with two quick points before Matthew Keady added a third unanswered score. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the likes of Keith Coleman and substitute Stephen Broderick, our lads couldn’t make the extra man count in attack. Eventually Michael Hession doubled the home sides’s lead with a low shot past Tom McGing, and victory seemed all but secured.
A faint glimmer of hope was rekindled Johnny Duffy flicked a goal over his head past Tiernan Canny after a lobbed pass from John Kerrigan towards the end, but fourteen-man Kilmaine held out for a four-point win.
Ballintubber team that lined out: (1)Tom McGing (2)Oran Scully (3)Kevin Shannon (4)Declan Larkin (5)Aaron Lally (6)Keith Coleman (7)Gary Loftus (8)John Kerrigan (9)David McHale (10)Ciarán Gavin (0-2) (11)Darragh McGovern (12)Johnny Duffy (1-3, 2f) (13)Hugh Geraghty (1-3, 2f) (14)Damien McGing (21)Noel Geraghty
Substitutions used: Stephen Broderick for Kevin Shannon, Dave Clarke for David McHale, Patrick Burke for Hugh Geraghty, Ray Geraghty for Damien McGing